Cremon was 38.30 metres (125 ft 8 in) long, with a beam of 7.37 metres (24 ft 2 in) and a depth of 2.90 metres (9 ft 6 in). She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine which had cylinders of 33 centimetres (13 in), 59.8 centimetres (23+9⁄16 in) and 85 centimetres (33+1⁄2 in) diameter by 57 centimetres (22+5⁄8 in) stroke. The engine was built by Reiherstieg Schiffswerfte & Maschinenfabrik A. G., Hamburg, Germany. It was rated at 54nhp,[2] driving a single screw propeller. It could propel the ship at 11 knots (20 km/h).[3]Cremon was assessed at 268 GRT, 104 NRT.[2]
Cremon was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine on 1 October 1939.[5] She served as an auxiliary patrol boat during the early years of World War II in the 1 Vorpostenflotille, specifically serving off Norway immediately after the German invasion there. During the invasion, Norwegian minelayers frantically mined the harbors that German ships would soon occupy. One of these minelayers, HNoMS Tyr, laid over twenty mines between Lerøy Island and Sotra and around Vatlestraumen. Since no minesweepers were available in the area, the two support vessels Schiff 9 and Cremon were outfitted in mine clearing gear and sent to clear the area of mines. Schiff 9 struck a mine and sank in less than two minutes, and when Cremon moved to rescue survivors she too struck a mine and exploded. Around six of her crew were killed, five survived.[6][7][3]
^ abc"Cremon (57158)"(PDF). Lloyd's Register: Chalutiers &c. CRE-CYG (in English and French). London: Lloyd's Register. 1930–1931. Retrieved 9 April 2022 – via Southampton City Council.
^"Cremon (07227)"(PDF). Lloyd's Register: Navires à Vapeur et à Moteurs. CRA-CRE (in English and French). London: Lloyd's Register. 1935–1936. Retrieved 9 April 2022 – via Southampton City Council.
^Rohwer, Jurgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (20 June 2019). "Vorpostenflottillen 1939 – 1945". Seekrieg: Timeline of the Naval War 1939–1945 (in German). Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte. Retrieved 9 April 2022 – via Württembergische Landesbibliothek.
